Lotus Elise

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Information about Lotus Elise

The Lotus Elise is a two seat, rear-wheel drive, mid-engined roadster conceived in early 1994 (24 years ago) and released in sep. 1996 (22 years ago) by the English manufacturer Lotus Cars. The car has a hand-finished fibreglass body shell atop its extruded aluminium and bonded chassis that provides a rigid platform for the suspension, while keeping weight and production costs to a minimum. The roadster is capable of speeds up to 240 km/h (150 mph). The Elise was named after Elisa, the granddaughter of Romano Artioli who was chairman of Lotus at the time of the car's launch.

Models

111R / Federal Elise

This Series 2 Elise model comes in European 111R version or a version sold in North America, called the Federal Elise. It is powered by the all-aluminium 189 hp (141 kW) 1.8L DOHC Toyota ZZ engine with a Yamaha designed twin-cam head offering variable valve timing on both intake and exhaust valvetrain, a 6 speed manual Toyota gearbox. The Series 2 model is acclaimed as the best version of the Elise to date, with tremendous performance numbers, with many tests resulting in 0–60 mph (0–100 km/h) in approximately 4.9 seconds or 4.7 seconds with the Sport Package. The engine management computer is a Lotus programmed unit. A radical cam timing shift at ~6,200 rpm makes the car feel like it has two different engines.

The 2005 (13 years ago)Lotus Elise was the first to be sold commercially in the United States, in the summer of 2004 (14 years ago). Approval for the Elise, however, required intervention by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) who provided a three-year exemption for the car, as it had failed to meet US bumper and headlight regulations. All Lotus Elise cars manufactured after Jan. 1, 2007 (11 years ago) include the new headlights and 2.5 mph (4.0 km/h) bumpers, although they are hidden in the front.

This model has been followed up by the 2006 (12 years ago) Model Year Elise 111R and SportRacer models. Lotus made a limited edition (50 in the US) version of the Lotus Elise as well, called the Lotus Elise Sport.

2006 models also differ from the 2005 (13 years ago) models in a few aspects. 2006 (12 years ago) models sport LED tail lights, drive by wire (an updated ECU), improved gas mileage, as well as more comfortable ProBax seats.

For the 2007 (11 years ago) model year Lotus there were several further minor changes made. The LOTUS lettering on the rear of the vehicle, which was previously flat stickers, was changed to raised lettering. The headlamp units were sealed. Also, in order to comply with US Federally mandated bumper restrictions, the frontal crash structure was slightly changed and rear bumperettes were added next to the license plate mount. Approximately 100 2007 (11 years ago) model year "launch" cars were shipped to the US without these bumper changes. Also in 2007 (11 years ago) the Elise S was released and the 111R renamed Elise R.

2008 models

For 2008 (10 years ago), there are several additions to the Lotus line-up. There are two versions of the Elise. Lotus will continue to provide a naturally aspirated Elise producing 189 hp (141 kW). The second version is the Elise SC sporting a non-intercooled supercharger producing 218 hp (163 kW). 0-60mph is reduced from 4.9 for the base Elise or 4.7 seconds for the Elise with Sport package to 4.3 seconds for the Elise SC. The NA Elise styling will be similar to the prior model years. The Elise SC, however, is distinguishable from the NA version by a rear spoiler identical to the Type 72-D edition spoiler and new wheels. Weight remains a Lotus-claimed 1,987 lb (901 kg); just 3 pounds (1.4 kg) more than the previous year.

Special editions:

External links to Lotus Elise

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